Method of treating tubular knitted fabrics



J. V. PALMER. METHOD OF TREATING TUBULAR KNITTED FABRICS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR-22,19I9. v

Patented Mar. 16

a Horn e1 JESSE V. PALMER, 0F GBEENWICH, NEW YORK.

METHOD OF TREATING TUBULAR KNITTED FABRICS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 16, 19.20.

Application filed March 22, 1919.- Serial No. 284,363.

T" aZZ #710221 it may concern:

Be it known that I, Jnssir V. Pxmtnn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Greenwich, in the county of Washington and State of New York, have invented new and useful improvements in Methods of Treating Tubular Knitted Fabrics, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to the treatment of tubular knitted fabrics and more particularly to the drying of such fabrics while in their tubular form.

' Heretofore, it has been customary to treat such tubular knitted fabric after its manufacture, while it is in its original tubular form and before it is cut to make undergarments and the like therefrom, by washing and drying. In conducting this treatment of the fabric with the aid of pipe driers the washing is usually effected while the fabric is in a roll and the water is extracted from the fabric by running the fabric through squeezing rolls or by centrifugal action. In either case, however, a large percentage of moisture remains in the fabric, and such moisture has heretofore been removed usually by a hot air blast. In conducting this last mentioned step by the aid of a pipe drier, it has been the usual practice heretofore to load the moist fabric rapidly upon the drier pipe and when this has been done, a spreader is placed upon the end of the pipe and a blast of hot air is forced through the pipe, the wet fabric being pulled off the pipe over the spreader while it is dried by the hot air blast, the dried fabric being then rolled and subsequently cut to make the garments. By such a method, the wet fabric is pulled onto the pipe as rapidly as possible, which causes a longitudinal stretching of the fabric which is objectionable, and also, the wet fabric is stretched both longitudinally and transversely while it is being pulled over the spreader and dried, in consequence of which the garments made from a fabric so treated, after being worn, rewashed and dried, shrink longitudinally to a very considerable extent, rendering the garment too short and uncomfortable for the wearer. Furthermore, the drying of the fabric while in a stretched condition renders the fabric stiff and relatively inelastic.

The present invention provides a novel and improved method of drying the moist fabric whereby the objectionable stretching a and consequent shrinking of the fabric is avolded to a great extent and also the dried fabric is much more elastic as compared with fabric dried by the method heretofore employed.

The method embodying the present invention may be carried out with the aid of a pipe drier of any suitable construction, irrespective of whether the drier pipe is arranged horizontally or vertically, the fabric being preferably loaded upon and removed from the pipe by suitable mechanical means.

One form of apparatus capable of use in the carrying out of the method, is shown conventionally in the accompanying drawing, wherein Figure l is a diagran'imatic view illustrating the step of drying the fabric during the loading of the fabric onto the drying pipe.

Fig. 2 isa diagrammatic view illustrating the step of removing the dried fabric from the drying pipe, and

Fig. 3 represents a cross section through the deflector on the line 3 3, 2.

The apparatus shown conventionally in the drawing comprises a pipe 1 having a hot-air blast conduit 2 connected to its lower end and leading from a blower 8 which latter receives heated air from a suitable source, the upper end of the pipe being adapted to receive the tubular fabric X. A hot-air deflector 4t preferably comprising a hollow body having oppositely tapered or approximately conical ends as shown,-is adapted to be mounted on the upper end of the pipe by any suitable means such, for example, as by a stem 5 formed to engage across bar 6 in the pipe. A pair of feed rolls 7 are adapted to engage the fabric at .opposite sides of the pipe to load the fabric thereon, and a roller 8 arranged above the deflector serves to withdraw the dried fabric from the pipe and upwardly between a pair of guide rollers 9 and to wind it into a roll.

In carrying out the present invention, the tubular knitted fabric is washed in the roll and the water is extracted from it in any suitable way, after which the fabric which still contains a considerable amount of moisture, is subjected to the drying treatment. This drying treatment, according to the present invention, is conducted by feeding the tubular fabric upon the pipe,'while the hot-air blast is forced through the tube and into the interior of the tubular Web of fabric passing on to the pipe, while in collapsed form at such a rate of speed that the fabric becomes dried by the hot-air blast before the fabric passes on to the'tube. Heretofore, the loading, of a roll of moist fabric on to the pipe has been done so rapidly as to consume but from three to ten minutes. by hand, and from half a minute to one minute where a power feed is used, during which operation, the hot-air blast Qvas usually shut off, and in any case there was no opportunity for drying the fabric, whereas, according to the present invention, the feeding of the fabric upon the pipe should consume an hour or longer per roll of fabric and the fabric should be fed at an even rate of speedin order that all portions of the fabric will become uniformly dry as the fabric becomes loaded upon the pipe. As shown diagrammatically in Fig. 1, the tubular fabric X is drawn from a basket or other suitable receptacle up over the roller 8, thence down between the guide rollers 9 0V r the hot-air deflector 4.- and is forced onto the pipe 1 by the feed rolls 7 which engage the fabric at opposite sides of the pipe, these feed rolls being revolved at the proper rate of speed by any suitable mechanism, the hotair blast passing. upwardly within the pipe and within the tubular fabric above the pipe during this feedingoperation. The column of hot-air, when it reaches the end of the pipe, is expanded and thrown automatically against the surrounding wall of the tubular fabric, the column of hot-air then assumingan annular form, the hot-air filling the fabric causing it to become inflated or spread out sufiiciently to remove folds, wrinkles or creases therefrom, and the relatively large area of the fabric thus brought into contact ith the hot-air resulting in a rapid and. thorough drying thereof. It will be understood that the hot-air eventually escapes out- Wardly from the interior of the tubular fabric through the meshes of the fabric. By thus drying the fabric while the same is being; loaded upon the pipe. the drying is effected while the fabric is collapsed or loose and hence free of tension, either longitudinally or transversely, in consequence of which the fabric will not become stretched and will retain its elasticity. lVhen the loading of the fabric onto the pipe has been completed, the feed rolls 7 are retracted, as shown in Fig. 2, and the dried tubular fabric may then be drawn off the pipe, over the deflector and is wound into a roll by the suitably driven roller 8 on which the fabric roll rests, the fabric being drawn, during the operation, between the guide rollers 9; or the dried fabric may be placed in suitable receptacle. The drawing of the fabric between the rollers 8 while the fabric is inflated or spread out by the blast of hot-air, serves to bring the fabric into a smooth fiat web of proper width and free of creases or wrinkles. be cut up and made into garments.

I claim as my invention--- l. The method of treating moist tubular knitted fabric which comprises loading such fabric onto a pipe at a uniform rate of speed while a hot-air blast is forced through said pipe and into the interior of the portion of the tubular fabric approaching the pipe to effect a uniform drying action on the fabric.

2. The method of drying moist tubular knitted fabric which comprises loading such fabric onto a pipe while a hot-air blast is forced through the pipe into the interior of said fabric and out through the same and while said fabric is substantially free of tension and at sucha rate of speed as will dry said fabric previous to and during its load ingupon the pipe, and then withdrawing the dried fabric rom the pipe while the fabric is substantially free of tension.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

Jnssn v. PALMER.

The dried fabric is then ready to 

